March 11 began for Ayae Mori as so many other days since the
Japanese exchange student arrived in Murrieta last August. She was
using Skype to chat with — and see — her boyfriend in
Yokohama.

“Then I saw his house shaking,” she recalled. “He was so afraid
that he evacuated to the school close to his house.”

Ayae soon discovered that the epicenter of the earthquake was an
area where her family lives.

“I just cried and I hoped my relatives are all fine,” she said.
“I thought I couldn’t help anyone in Japan because I was in a
different country.”

One of those relatives was an uncle, Noriyuki Yoshio, 32, a
firefighter.

“He was transporting older people in his truck,” Ayae said she
learned. “Other firefighters told him stop doing that because it
was too dangerous. But he couldn’t stop helping people, and he got
swept away by the tsunami.”

A week later, his wife, who had been severely injured, found him
in his truck. He had died.

Ayae, 17, who has been attending Murrieta Valley High School
since September, was devastated.

“I was so frustrated that I couldn’t help Japan, but after I
heard about my uncle, I wanted to take over his efforts helping
people.”

So she contacted her school counselor and teachers to help raise
money for the victims and families in Japan. Before long, $1,700
was donated to the Red Cross.

After living with another family for most the year, Ayae moved
in last month with Jonathan and Stori Nagel, who have lived in
Murrieta for 16 years and have three children.

Jonathan works for a contractor in Anaheim, while Stori is a
coordinator with The Center for Cultural Exchange, which arranges
student exchanges.

“We decided to have Ayae stay with us because our family loves
learning about other cultures,” she said.

This is Ayae’s third trip to the United States.

“I really love America,” she said. “People have such an open
heart. After the earthquake, everybody worried about my family and
helped me to raise money. One time, I did a presentation about the
atomic bomb in history class. I know this story is not fun for
Americans, but they listened to me and they gave me their
opinion.”

Ayae flies home today, excited to be reunited with her family,
but sad about leaving behind so many new friends. The Nagel
children feel the same way.

“They say to me, ‘Ayae is going home so soon,'” Stori said.

And the Nagels are getting ready to welcome a new exchange
student, Louisa, from Germany who arrives in August to spend the
school year.

Peter Fischetti is a Press-Enterprise correspondent. Reach him
at fischettipub@sbcglobal.net

If you have an idea for a Young Achiever profile, contact
Assistant Metro Editor Mark Acosta at 951-375-3725 or
macosta@PE.com

young achiever

Ayae Mori

AGE: 17

RESIDENCE: Yokohama, Japan

EDUCATION: She has been attending Murrieta Valley High School as
an exchange student

NOTABLE: She raised $1,700 after the tragedy in her home country
to honor her uncle, a firefighter who died helping others.

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